Meat suspending device



April 26, 1938.

D. A. DICK MEAT SUSPENDING DEVICE Filed Dec. 23, 1936 INVENTOR DLLBERT/Z DICK ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 26, 1938 v UNITED STATES PATENT oFFic-E 7 MEAT 'SUSPENDING DEVICE Delbert A. Dick, Portland, Oreg.

Application December 23, 1936, Serial No. 117,284

9 cla ms. (01. 17-443) but at an opposite angle tothe axis of the ele- (I;

This invention relates to devices for suspending cuts of meat. in a cooler for ripening and/or storage and is useful particularly for loins and other pieces of meat smaller than a full quarter.

Coolers are commonly provided with a row of scantlings setting slightly out from the wall on several sides of the enclosure and fitted with metal hooks that engage the scantlings andpresent out and upstanding points in the form of a hook. They are used by impaling soft portions of meat on the hooks. v

These hooks are usually tinned, but the tin wear's'ofi and in any event the hole in the meat must be trimmed out before it is cooked and served, resulting in a very considerable waste. Where the tin has worn off the meat will be blackened inwardly for some distance and the waste is correspondingly heavy.

The object of my invention is a device to engage the bone edge of a loin as distinguished from the soft or meat edge, and which when used on a soft piece of meat not containing bone will not necessarily penetrate the meat deeply, but will hold a piece of considerable weight without puncture of its surface.

I do this by applying points to the inside of a spring clip and suspending the clip rigidly but reversely to the way the old meat hook was suspended. To illustrate the best way in which I propose to carry out my invention, the following drawing herewith is made a part of this specification. In the drawing,

Fig. I is a side view of my new article;

Fig. II is a right hand elevation of Fig. I; and

Fig. III is a top view of Fig. II looking downward in the direction of the arrow shown in that figure.

The essence of the device is a spring clip I, one. side of which, indicated by the numeral la, is preferably integral with a means for engaging the appliance with a scantling or other beam similar to what is commonly in use as hereinbefore described, and which contains pointed pins that project inwardly from both sides, so that a piece of meat, thrust into the device by springing the clip, will have the pointed pins resiliently held against both sides and will therefore be held without there being necessarily any penetration of the body of the cut of meat.

The pointed pin 2 is rigidly fixed to the element of the clip indicated by Ia, and it will be noted that it projects inwardly and upwardly into the space defined by the spring clip I. Another pin, 3, projects upwardly and inwardly with respect to the same space defined by the clip I,

ment 2. The angles, however,'are not important within reasonable limits, to those shown.

I prefer to make the point 2 rigid with its supporting structure as by welding at 2a or many, other preferred manner; and'I preferably make the point 3 rigid with a base orsupporting plate 3a as by welding at 3b, or other preferred way of making the point 3 rigid with the supporting plate 3a, and project the extending end of the, point 3, indicated by'the'numeral 30, through' the slot 4 formed in the spring clip I as shown in Figs. I and II. The point 3 withits supporting plate 3a, is thus capable of up; and down placeinent with respect to the length of the slot Preferably formed of onejpiec'e with the spring clip I and la, is a box hanger portion -5, made as agood fit to the type of beam that it is to be used on. A hinge 6, supports a bottom closure member, 1, preferably arranged with a snap fastener at 8 so that when the element 5 is placed over a beam such as 9, the element I may be brought around and snapped into place, thus holding the spring clip rigidly in inverted position as shown in Fig. I.

To use this device, a loin of beef, for example, that it is intended to engage, is merely forced between the points 2 and 3 by an upward movement sufiicient to bring the points 2 and 3, or. at least the point 2, into contact with the piece of meat by the yielding of the clip I.

The resiliency of the spring clip I will then cause the points to engage the article firmly and,

obviously, the weight of the piece of meat tends to tighten the grip of the points 2 and 3 rather than to loosen them.

When it is desired to take the piece out of the device, another upward movement tending to outwardly flex the spring clip I will bring the pin 2 out of engagement with the meat when it may be withdrawn by a single motion outward and sidewise.

Mounting the pin 3 so that it is slidable in the slot 4, contributes materially to the ease with which the piece of engaged meat may be taken from the spring clip without in any manner detracting from its holding power.

The spring clip I should be made. of a good grade of spring steel and so processed that the inner or loop portion lb, can be flexed outwardly a very considerable amount without causing a permanent set in the metal of which it is made. The points are preferably hardened and the article as a whole will be tinnedor plated as is usual withappliances intended to contact food substances. q 7 e Havingthus disclosed myainventiom'what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is, r a p 1. A device for hanging cuts of meat comprising. abox-hanger portion to non-rotatably en- ,gage a beam,an inverted spring clipmade rigid idly held by the box hanger and the other slid- 3 ablyheld by the clip, that project; angularly u 7 wardly into the defined space.

with the box hangerportion that is ormed to define an open bottom; space V at one side of said box hanger portion and apair of pointsmne rig- 2. A device for hanging meat comprising a member to non-rotatively engage a Beam-an in"= verted spring clip, made; rig-id tlriergwith, that defines an open bottomed space at one side of the box member and a pair of pointedlrheatn gaging means supported by said first named :riiea'nls that lfiiojectlfiito said defined spacdrthat are fiectiye to hol'd'fneatinserted 'btweenthe 511 vi env sa e i bi is b i a 'r 'd spring clip made rigid tl ierewith arid spaced therefrom, a slotted pin mounting formed in the 7 ing a box hanger portion, aspaced spring clip por ons a d a ai 0 iie rj i c i ".bli ie gri 'id th b l a' e ia t other i -rnovablyr attached to the spring clip,tllat are poc 3.-Adeviceoi the char spring clip, a pin mounted for non-turning ver- 7 3d tical r'novernent slotted-1 portion brine clip iii iet a fi e i i w rd 'et the Space h tween said box niernberandsaid inverted spring;

and a pin made igid withthe box member that "A sews-ear e diameter described comprissiti e d p i' o e ni le m at placed n. t e qx-haa i rhd the n m 5. In a meat supporting device of'tlie character described, a supporting memberthat is efiective to rigidly engage a beam, an inverted spring clip member, one end of which engages the supporting member, to define an open bottomed space therebetween, a movable pin'mounted on said clip member to project angularly upwardly in the space between the supporting means andthe 7 clip and an oppositely angularly projecting pin 7 I maderigid with said box supporting member.

6. A hanging device for meats, comprising a beam surrounding member, a spring clip made rigid therewith and spacedl tfi refrorriatpne side anda pair of meat engaging pins; non-turnably supported to project angularly upwardly into the space between the beam surrounding member and hanger portion and a pair of points, one rigidly .li ldby the box hanger anainepther slid'ably; heldbyithe clip, that project angularly upwardly v 8. krnat siispndi i dvice comprising a 7 hanger portion'arranged to latch aroundfa' rectangmar peam, an inverted'sp'ringclip member :r'nade rigid with said box hanger .to define an open bottom space alongside said hanger, a p'airf of ine t ngagmg pins that project angnlarly upwardly into the defined s'pace atjsubstantially op- .po site sides of said space, one of said pin's being fi idlymounted an theothe'r slidably mounted.

f '9. Amen suspending device comprising a s hange'r portionarranged to latch in bn-rbtat awe position arund' a beam, an invertedjspring clip' member iiiad rigid with said box hanger to define an open bottohi spac'e 'alongsld "said hanger, a pair of meat engagingpin that project angularly upwardly intothed'efined space at substantially opposit'e'isides of said space, one of said pins being ii'gidlyinouii'ted and the other I slidably maimed. p

V V YDELBERT'A. DICK, 

